CSKA Moscow’s Vatutin: I hope that the current crisis will lower the cost of players

CSKA Moscow president Andrei Vatutin hopes that the current crisis will lower the salaries of the players.

The Russian spoke with Sportrbc about the resumption of EuroLeague and losses that EuroLeague teams will face next season.

“It is ridiculous to play without spectators. Clubs receive a significant part of their budgets from ticketing. The sports in America have real income from TV broadcasts. I understand Donald Trump who urges to resume games also without fans. Our sports rating are low, it is not business. Our flights for the team cost three times the fee we get for the victory” Vatutin said. “I consider more important to be better prepared for next season rather than review the dead [season]” Vatutin added. “With such a drop in revenue, it is hard to expect anything good. I suppose that budget cuts will be about 30%. On the other hand, I hope that the current crisis, like the previous one, will lower the cost of players. With all due respect to the stars of European basketball, their salaries are not determined by the income of clubs and leagues, as in the NBA, but by a peculiar race and competition of owners’ ambitions” the Russian continued. “Resuming games after such a suspension will allow you to see games at preseason level at best. After all, in summer, professional athletes try to keep in shape, relax for a couple of weeks, then begin to train in gyms and basketball halls. The players are trying to stay in good shape, being locked up in apartments or country houses. What kind of basketball will we get? It is ridiculous not to train for more than two months, and then determine the champion within two to three weeks. Moreover, we doom athletes to injuries”.